I’ve been benched, lost confidence, wanted to quit, underperformed, lost motivation, felt hopeless but I’ve also been the coach’s favorite, I was awarded and re-gained the love of basketball I once had. You’re praised on how well you play and looked down upon when you make mistakes. I had to realize that one game doesn’t define who I am! 1) I’m a team player, I can take constructive criticism, I’m not afraid to speak my mind and I’m ambitious. Getting this scholarship will reduce my financial stress and boost my motivation by validating my hard work ensuring to always apply myself. 2) I’ve been playing Women’s Basketball for 8 years now. I started in the eighth grade and now I’m a junior in college. Throughout the years I’ve had many awards. From eighth to twelfth grade I’ve gotten “Best Defensive Player”, First and Second Team All Conference in the 4A Desert Region. My freshman and sophomore year of college I received awards for being a student athlete maintaining over a 3.5 GPA. 3) Around Covid time, I became very sick. My body was very fatigue to the point I couldn’t even walk, I had constant fevers and ear infections and I couldn’t eat or drink anything. I had countless doctor appointments every week. I had a Cardiologist, a Neurologist, an Oncologist and an Infectious Disease Doctor. They thought I had flu, covid, lupus or cancer but I ended up having some sort of blood disorder which became a viral infection that had spread throughout my body. I was hospitalized for almost a year. This event in my life always brings me back to Proverbs 16:9 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps”. This verse explains that God’s plan is always greater than what we have in mind. He is in control and establishes our steps so it’s important to trust and lean on him during the good and bad. 4) My mom is the ideal person to be. No matter what life throws at her she always remains strong and level headed with a smile on her face making sure everyone around her is taken care of. She raised and showed me how to be independent, strong and hardworking. My mom is my biggest supporter! She unfailingly stands by my side, encouraging me to follow my dreams. Since I was a kid she always told my sister and I to be better than her in life because she wants the best for us. She said she would never want to see us struggle the way we had to growing up. She probably isn’t as aware of her influence on me in my life but I owe most of my success and accomplishments to her. 5) Currently I’m a student-athlete with a 3.8 gpa. My mom is a single parent working two jobs trying to maintain her bills back at home. Between that and her sending me money for groceries and necessities, we don’t have the money to pay off my tuition. Between basketball practice, games, volunteering and school it’s hard to find a job that will work with my schedule. Right now I currently owe $7,602.00 left of my tuition so if you grant me this it will truly take off some of my financial struggles. If I don’t make a payment by the end of the semester I won’t be able to register for classes since there’s a hold on my account. 6) I’m very grateful for this opportunity to share my life and experiences as a student athlete. My academics and basketball is very important to me, it has opened many doors for me that I never would have imagined. Through the sport I was able to build strong and healthy relationships with teammates who then became some of my very close friends. 7) I’m currently a Junior at York University in Nebraska pursuing my Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology/ Exercise Science. This is also my third year playing collegiate basketball. I was awarded an athletic scholarship of $3,500 and I still have a remaining balance. After I graduate I plan on getting my Masters to finally become an Athletic Trainer. Within the next couple years of being certified, I will open up my own clinic to help rehabilitate anybody who is injured like athletes or veterans that have fought in the war. My company will not only be focused on athletic training but you’ll have access to a chiropractor, a physical therapist, a dietitian, personal trainer, psychologist etc. Being a student athlete is very important to me because I’m living out my dream and I’m in a fortunate position where somebody wishes to be in my shoes so I definitely don’t take anything for granted.